Brazen Friday 8/29/2014

I have my cranky pants on today.  I sure hope I can put on my happy pants before our family comes for lunch tomorrow.

Anyways, here's what's happening at Brazen Stitchery this week.

I have been working on samples for the September Phat Fiber box.  The theme is The Southwest and I have to admit, I was not very excited about the theme when I saw the title.  I thought, 'Oh, Yuck!  Everything is gonna be brown!'  But then, but then, I googled 'Images of The American Southwest' (after just googling 'Southwest' and getting a bunch of airplane pictures) and my eyes were besieged by the beauty of the American Southwest.  Purples, and pinks, and oranges, and blues, Oh My!  Let me tell, you-This has been a fun box to prepare for.

Here are the rolags I am making for the box-BFL, Angelina, and Firestar.

It's gonna be hard to sell these beauties instead of hoarding them.

I also dyed 16 skeins of yarn for the upcoming Blackland Prairie Artisan & Fibre Fair in established color ways 'District 12' and 'Northman'.

And I made myself a little note in my day planner.  This right here is Truth with a capital 'T'.

And, now, I am gonna go get on the drum carder and make more squishy rolags and then do some sewing.

Workin' It Wednesday 8/27/2014

This week has been a slower week production wise because I am channeling my creative energy towards getting ready for BPAFF in September.  I have been sewing, and dyeing, and rolaging, oh my!

But, I did get a chance to spin another singles yarn.  Did I mention that I am trying to get the singles thing down?  This was a braid of SW Merino that I got from Gritty Knits at DFW Fiber Fest 2013 called 'Garland'.  It spun up very nicely and I love the way the colors mingled together.  I got 140 yd of a smooshy single.

I also worked on the test knit with my lovely pink handspun.

And, I just couldn't resist the rolags I made the other day.  I started spinning this last night and worked on it today as I taught math.  Thanks to my friend Carol for lending me this awesome Jeri Brock Turkish spindle.  She spins like a beauty.

So sparkly!

And of course, I worked on Franken Blanket.

My goals for the next week are to continue the test knit, work on Franken Blanket daily, spin one rolag a day on the spindle, and spin a bobbin of the four ply that I have planned.

Weekending-8/25/2014

So, this weekend we went swimming and then Ray and I went to have Thai food.  I tried something new for me-Massaman Curry and it was delicious.  I am not usually adventurous when it comes to trying new food, but this was definitely worth the risk.  And bonus-I didn't eat all of it, so I got to have it for lunch yesterday.

I am trying something new with my work schedule.  I have a hard time separating the work life from home life since I work from home.  So, what happens is either I ignore the shop, or I ignore my home.  So, why I have done is set up a work schedule where I am working-Just like a schedule for an outside of the home job.  So far, I have really enjoyed the ability to completely focus on work when it is time to work, and home when it is time to not work.  And hey, the commute is pretty nice.  I will let you know how it works out as time goes on.

So, this weekend, I cut a few yards of fabric.

 Experimented with making Rolags on my drum carder.

 And worked out a new bag design for the shop.

Now, I am dyeing 20 skeins of yarn.  2 established color ways and one for the September Phat Fiber box.

Today is a busy day, and I better get back at it if I want to get everything done that I have scheduled.

Brazen Friday 8/22/2014

This is what's happening in the world of Brazen Stitchery this week.

I am happy to announce that in just one short month, on September 20 and 21, you will find me and my wares at the Blackland Prairie Artisan and Fiber Faire with my fellow MAFIA indies.  I hope to see some of your beautiful faces there.

I will be debuting Brazen Batts at this event.  A very few people have ended up with the batts that I made for the shop in the past but I would only have them occasionally and then not very many.  This is a product that I plan on carrying on a regular basis from now on.  So, I broke out my Fancy Kitty drum carder to start making some smooshy and smooth batts with.  There may be an occasional art batt, but I myself prefer to spin smooth and buttery batts so that is what I will have the most of.

Here she is, ready to get to work.

I went by the store last week and got more fabric for my fun and funky bags as well as fabric to be used as lining and contrast.  I washed that all up this week and plan on getting to cutting this weekend.  I have a medium bin ready to cut-and I am thinking up a new bag design in my head.  I just need to sit and figure out exactly how I am going to make it happen.

Good things are happening at Brazen Stitchery!

Workin' It Wednesday 8/20/2014

So, this is what I have been working on this week...

I finished the Jane hat while rewatching the pilot to Sleepy Hollow.

I made baby booties for the first time.  The scrap of yarn you see next to them is what I had left after binding off.

  Then, I used that scrap to add a single crochet button holes to the baby sweater.  And here is the complete set-Just in time-she had her baby this morning.  The hat seems big, but the one thing babies do really well is grow.

I plied the bobbins form last week for this 2 ply.

I am working on perfecting spinning singles, so I spun this skein up this weekend.

And, I am working on a test knit.  So, the only pics you'll see of this project will be artistic in nature until the pattern is released.

 And, as always, I am working on the Franken Blanket daily.  It grows slowly enough that I did not take a picture this week.

Weekending 8/18/2014

This weekend, we pick a few peaches off of the peach tree.

Just a few.

And I took the boys to a birthday party at Build a Bear at Ridgmar Mall.

They had a fun time.  O picked a bulldog that he Named Boby.  Li pick a black bear that he named Monkey Dalek The First.  We also picked up a mall pretzel on our way out.

This is what I did as they partied down in the BaB store.

The boys were lucky enough to have friends over 2 nights in a row to hang out and watch movies.  Friday, I made burgers.  Saturday, I used a slightly expired coupon for a free medium cheese pizza and grabbed some cheese sticks too.  Mom for the win!

Ray went to work at 6:30 Friday morning, and due to a cut cable, did not make it home until 7 am Saturday.  So this was a weekend of recovery for him.

My dad also swung by yesterday and we went to Frescoes for dinner.  I love Frescoes salsa.  I could drink it.  And at this visit, Ray very nearly did.  I think there was something in it that his body was lacking.

We had a big storm most of yesterday morning that resulted in us not having power for about an hour.  I spun and Ray finished reading Harry Potter and The Sorcerers Stone to O.

We had a good weekend filled with Friends, Family, and Mall Food. 

Brazen Friday 8/15/2014

So, I am switching things around a little and making Friday the day when I chat about what is happening in the world of Brazen Stitchery.  There will sometimes still be food blogs, but not every friday, maybe once a month?  We'll see what the future holds.

A couple of weeks ago, I made a Spoonflower order.  Spoonflower is the website where I get all of my true specialty fabric.  I can find mainstream nerdy fabric usually at Joann's, but for things like Dr. Who, The Hunger Games, and Minion fabric, I have to go and have it printed at Spoonflower.  I love that I can get crazy cool fabric, but the fact that it is custom printed makes is a high priced item.  Which is why there is a price difference between items made with standard fabric, and items made with Spoonflower fabric.  Any way, all that to say, my order came in this week!

Woot!
These are the fabrics that were in my mailbox.

Minion, Hunger Games, Harry Potter.

Game of Thrones, Dr. Who, Dr. Who, and Firefly.

Tomorrow, I am planning a shopping expedition to find fabric to coordinate with all these lovelies.  I will hit up my local quilt shop and then go to Joann's.

Workin' It Wednesday 8/13/2014

This week I am working on a few projects.  I will start with most recent first.

I started a hat yesterday from a pattern that was gifted to me last year.  I am using the yarn that I spun form the Little Monkey Stitch and Spin batts that I got at Kid n Ewe last year.

Jane Hat

I am also working on a spin from Fiber Addiction on etsy.  These bobbins started started out as batts called 'Celebrity Crush' that I got in a swap from her many moons ago.  I love the way they spun up and I plan on plying them together for a 2 ply.

I am working also on a set for a friend that is due to have a baby soon.  I so far have a sweater, hat, and plan on eking out a set of booties from the yarn that is left.  The pattern calls for 3/4 oz of yarn and I have 4/5 an ounce.  Crossing my fingers on this one.

I have been steadily working for 30 minutes a day on my Franken Blanket and I have made so much progress that I need to pull out more yarn from the tub o' minis and make a new random ball of yarn.